Hose-supporter



(No Model.)

P. MULLANE.

HOSE SUPPORTER.

No. 581,868. Patented May 4,1897.

ommend it.

rrnn raras PATRICK MULLANE, OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS.

HOSE-SUPPORTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 581,868, dated May 4, 1897. Application iled May 28, 1896. Serial No. 593,331. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK MULLANE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Moline, in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Hose-Supporters, of which the following' is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in hose-supporters where, by the addition of a simple but very effective device to a wellknown form, a hose-supporter is produced which is far more convenient to attach to the hose and which cannot become detached accidentally, while being as little liable to tear the fabric as any of the old forms.

In the old form it is necessary to use the thumb and finger of one hand to pull the fabric through the broader part of the opening and then to slip the fabric into the slit by pulling up upon the supporter with the other hand. If hurriedly done, the fabric is apt not to crowd into the slit sufficiently to stay, but works out, detaching the supporter.

By means of my improvement the hosesupporter may be attached to the stocking with the use of one hand only, the fabric being automatically lifted as it is drawn into the slit, where it is held without the possibility of becoming detached.

My supporter has another feature to rec- The pin which is used to catch up the fabric has its point completely guarded when in normal position from sticking into or tearing anything which may brush against it. The pin in my supporter is unlike the pins in somewhat similar forms in not being used to support the stocking, the slit in the main body of the supporter performing` that function when the supporter is attached. The pin simply guides the fabric into position to be gripped by the sides of the slit, and when the fabric is so gripped the pin supports little or none of the strain. Thus while keeping the fabric from slipping through and becoming detached from the garter the tearing of the fabric is avoided, which always results when a sudden strain is put upon the stocking held by any supporters bearing the strain upon pins or roughened edges.

In the drawings accompanying this description, wherein like letters of reference indicate similar parts, Figure l shows a view of the under side of the hose-supporter. Fig. 2 shows a section of the supporter cut through the line 2 2, Fig. l. Fig. 3 shows a section of the supporter cut through the line 3 3, Fig. l; and Figs. a and 5 show sections, like Fig. 3, of modified forms of my supporter.

The body of lthe supporter is Well known in form, being a plate A, of appropriate shape, in which is an opening B, broad at the top and narrowing into a slit C at the bottom A of the plate. The top A2 of the plate forms a bar, to which the web of the elastic or other material which supports the stocking is attached. A pin D is attached to the plate A just below the end of the slit C and extends upward over the slit to the broad portion of the opening n, where it is bent down into the opening and has its point directly beneath the bar A2 and pointing toward it. The bar A2, with its attached web, forms an ei'licient guard for the point of the pin when in normal position. This, together with the sides of the opening B, absolutely prevents it from accidentally catching in or tearing any material near it.

The operation of my improved supporter is as follows: Instead of drawing the fabric with the thumb and finger through the broad opening I3, as one must do in the ordinary supporter when it is desired to fasten it to the stocking, the point of the pin is depressed below the face of the supporter and the supporter is drawn up. The pin engages with the fabric of the stocking until suflicienthas been taken upon its point, when itis released and springs back into position. The upward movement of the garter forces the fabric along the pin, and as it reaches the bent portion of the pin the fabric is raised above the level of the garter, slipping easily over the slight curves in the piu. The fabric is now ready to be engaged by the slit and as it travels along the pin it is crowded down into the slit, the sides of which grip it and take any addi tional strain which may be put upon the supporter. Consequently it will be seen that the pin does nothing more than engage the fabric' and automatically raise it into position to be fastened in the slit as it travels along the pin toward the slit. To release the stocking, it is IOO merely necessary to push down the garter, when the fabric will slip along the pin and off its point.

The modifications of my supporter shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are fastened and detachedin the same manner as above described. In Fig. 4 the pin D is straight, but .in order to guard its point the plate A is bent so as to bring the bar A2 over such point. rIhe relation of the pin D to the slit C is the same in all modifications, thus retaining the feature Which distinguishes it from other pin-supporters and serves to make it so much less destructive to the fabric. In Fig. 5 the point of the pin is in the same position and is guarded as in Fig. 4, but the pin has a hump.

E, which lies just over the place where the part B of the aperture narrows down into the slit C. This hump serves three purposesfirst, to make a raised point for the finger to press upon when it is desired to insert the point of the pin in the fabric; second, to prevent more effectively the accidental detaching of the supporter when the fabric is once caught in the slit, and, third, to raise the fabric just as it enters the slot and is gripped by the sides thereof. This hump thus serves to take all the strain off the pin after the fabric has passed over it.

That I claim is- I. In a hose-supporter, the combination with a frame provided with a Wide opening for entering the fabric, said opening terminating in a narrow slit for supporting and holding the fabric of a guide-pin extending over said slit and into the wide opening, its point being in substantially the same plane with the inner edges of the wide opening of the frame, whereby the vfabric may be readily caught, substantially as set forth.

V52. In a hose-supporter, the combination with a flat frame provided with a wide opening for entering the fabric, said opening terminating in a narrow slit for supporting and holding the fabric of a guide-pin extending from the rear end of said narrow slit over said slit and forward toward the wide opening and being bent down so as to be in substantially the saine plane with the edges of the frame, whereby the pin-point is protected and the fabric may be readily caught, substantially as set forth.

AThis specification signed and witnessed this th day of May, 1896.

PATRICK MULLANE. IVitnesse-s:

C. CHRISTOPHER, Guns. J. DUNN. 

